Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

~ Do Fewer Things. Work at a Natural Pace. Obsess over Quality. ~

From the New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and Deep Work, a groundbreaking philosophy for pursuing meaningful accomplishment while avoiding overload.

Our current definition of “productivity” is broken. It pushes us to treat busyness as a proxy for useful effort, leading to impossibly lengthy task lists and ceaseless meetings. We’re overwhelmed by all we have to do, but feel like we’re not accomplishing much of real value, leading to a disillusionment that has fueled the rising trend in burnout. We’re left to decide between giving into soul-sapping hustle culture or rejecting ambition altogether. But are these really our only choices?

Long before the arrival of pinging inboxes and clogged schedules, history’s most creative and impactful scientists, artists, and writers – the original “knowledge workers” -- mastered the art of producing valuable work with staying power. Compared to the distracted frenzy of the contemporary office, their approach was slower and varied in intensity, focused on the long game of creating work that matters while still maintaining a full life. They didn’t worry about Quiet Quitting because their efforts were too rewarding to contemplate abandoning.

In this timely and provocative book, Professor Cal Newport sets out to harness the wisdom of these traditional knowledge workers to radically transform our modern jobs. Drawing on deep research into the habits and mindsets set of a varied cast of professional thinkers -- from Galileo and Isaac Newton, to Jane Austen and Georgia O’Keefe – Newport lays out the key principles of “slow productivity,” a time-tested and more sustainable alternative to the aimless overwhelm that defines our current moment. Combining cultural criticism with systematic pragmatism, Newport deconstructs the absurdities inherent in standard notions of productivity, and then provides step-by-step advice for workers to replace them with a slower, more humane alternative.

From the aggressive rethinking of workload management, to introducing seasonal variation in effort, to shifting your performance toward long-term quality, this book provides a roadmap for escaping overload and arriving instead at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment. The world of work is due for a new revolution. Slow productivity is exactly what we need.